Workshops and regional meetings

As called for the Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiary held in Kumamoto, Japan, in October 2013, workshops are being organized in different parts of the world in support for the ratification and early implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. In the organization of the workshops and in accordance with the Final Act, the interim secretariat is cooperating and coordinating, as appropriate, with other relevant actors, including the secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions in order to make full use of relevant experience and expertise.

The workshops organized sought to improve the understanding of the Convention as well as familiarize participants with the process for signature, ratification and implementation. Informing about available sources of support and creating opportunities for exchange and action were also part of the process. At the first round of sub-regional workshops, the definition of national roadmaps by each participating country concluded each meeting, setting out the measures to be taken at a national level to move towards ratification and implementation. The presence of implementing agencies at the workshops assists in informing the agencies of planned activities at the national level.

The workshops also provided an opportunity for coordination of work in the interim period, including enabling activities delivered with the support of the Global Environment Facility, with contributions to the workshop from the secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, UNITAR and WHO.

Regional meetings in preparation for COP2

A series of regional meetings were held in preparation for COP2 with the funding contributions of Austria, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland:

Africa: 9-10 October 2018 in Lusaka, Zambia

Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 16-17 October 2018 in Chisinau, Moldova

Asia and the Pacific: 23-24 October 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand

Latin America and the Caribbean: 30-31 October 2018, Lima, Peru

Information sessions on other matters of relevance in the chemicals and waste cluster were held back-to-back with the regional consultations (on 11 October for Africa, 18 October for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 25 October for Asia and the Pacific and on 29 October for Latin America and the Caribbean). The sessions were led by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS) and the Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Regional meetings in preparation for COP1

The interim secretariat organized a series of regional meetings in preparation for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (24 to 29 September 2017, Geneva):

Asia and the Pacific: 5 to 7 July 2017, Bangkok, Thailand

Africa: 11 to 13 July 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa

Central and Eastern Europe: 12 to 13 July 2017, Brno, Czech Republic

Latin America and the Caribbean: 25 to 28 July 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Working sessions on the Minamata Convention - back-to-back with the BRS Regional preparatory meetings for the 2017 COPs

The Interim Secretariat organized working sessions on the Minamata Convention, back-to-back with the regional meetings for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions in preparation for their Conferences of the Parties in April and May 2017:

Asia and the Pacific: 9 to 10 March 2017, Bangkok, Thailand

Africa: 17 March 2017, Dakar, Senegal

Central and Eastern Europe: 24 March 2017, Riga, Latvia

Latin America and the Caribbean: 27 to 31 March 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Regional workshops to support the ratification and effective implementation of the Minamata Convention held in 2015 - back-to-back Minamata and BRS Regional Meetings

Following the first series of sub-regional workshops on the Minamata Convention, the Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention organized regional workshops to support the ratification and effective implementation of the Minamata Convention, back-to-back with the regional meetings for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions in preparation for their Conferences of the Parties in May 2015:

Asia and the Pacific: 17 to 20 March 2015, Jakarta, Indonesia - Proceedings